The perfect bagpack

hey guys ive been looking for a laptop back pack while now and cant seem to make up my mind.
Basically i thought at first id buy a laptop sleeve and toss it on my bagpack...unfortunately things are a il diff now..

Here are the circumstance to why i need a new bag pack.

1) I just started school in my college and my typical day requires me to walk about 3 miles a day...so after using my eastpak bag pack for a week, my shoulders are really really startin to hurt.
so i need sumthin with really really good shoulder and back padding

2) I wouldnt say that i have alooot of stuff to carry around with me but its a decent amount.

My typical load consists of my laptop, charger n ethernet(it would be nice if i had aseperate isolated compartment for these)

One 8 inch text book (the thick ones)

2 five star 5 subject notebooks

one binder

and one note pad.

3) It also happens t rain and snow quite a bit here so sumthin that can effeectively rsist the elements.

4) of the notebook backpax ive seen ive liked one made by ebags (Macroloader)
http://www.ebags.com/ebags/macroloader/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=59045

but it seems waay to bulky in the pictures...if any one has this bag can u please let me know what u think about it. Also this pack seems to lack in padding. But basically this bag is what im lookin for when it comes to storage and secure laptop compartment.

Thanks in advance for ne reccomendations.

And even if yre pack doesnt match what i need please leave a name of yre pack and possibly a link....just so i can browse more bags

 

My suggestion would be looking at Obusforme bags - I hear their padding is pretty thick..maybe TOO thick

 

The crumpler line is quite nice and waterproof. Back and strap padding is very good. You will need the large size (I am not sure what it is called now- it used to be the base toucher, but they came out with new names/new models). Look at Photococan on ebay for best prices, and they are very reliable

 

If you have the money, get a Booq BP3. It is simply an awazing backpack and Booq is top notch as far as answering questions and lifetime warranty. Look at www.booqbags.com, the BP3 is priced $135.00 on their site, but you can get a little cheaper at other retailers. I saw one the other day on eBay sell for like $70.00. Seriously, they are great bags and they are so comfortable.

 

Well among the suggested backpacks; Obusforme was the only one that i had never come across.

Coriolis, their website really doest sport too many pictures, but they do seem tto focus alot of their attention on comfort. Can u tell me if they have decent storage in their bags.

And i have definetly been looking at Crumpler alot, it just seems to come up everywhere, its just that all these websites seem to provide alternate images just for diff coloes and never for WHAT THE BAG LOOKS LIKE INSIDE!!!

its really driving me nuts because this bag will be part of my daily routine and would really really suck if i invested a good amount of money in it and find that its just not the right one.

ANother problem arises as i have to face the fact that I am about 5'8 tall, so if i buy an UBER HUGE backpack i might look a litlle wierd.

 

Unfortunately, those sites do indeed have a lack of good pictures.

The best place would be to find a dealer and look through there.

I've been a few Obusforme bagpacks(or backpacks?) at a local CompuSmart, and the inside padding wasn't that impressive compared to my Crumpler , but If you buy a sleeve for $30, it will work great, as the shoulder padding feels really nice.

edit: The best thing is to look around for reviews or at least pictures of the bags - they're often the best way, besides first hand, to learn more about the bag itself.

 

Well im slowly slowly getting used to the idea of getting a crumpler. I had a question though, i was reading yre "very busy man" review for the 20th time and i wanted to ask, the bag is pretty big so i conclude from that u might be carrying a good amount of stuff. Doesnt it start to hurt carrying all that stuff on just one shoulder.....im sure that their strap is very comfortable but none the less all the weight on one shoulder has got to take its toll. Also are u pretty satisfied with crumpler's padding for the laptop, i saw that u had a sleeve with the bag, is it needed?(Ihave a 14" IBM t43 with extended battery)

Thanks once again

 

If you put a laptop in the Sumdex sleeve, it will fit like a glove, But my T21(14.1") didn't fit in the sleeve, it was quite loose, so I don't think your T43 will fit either. I didn't have the extnded battery so I can't say.

The padding was way more then enough I would say, with a sleeve it could be overkill!

Actually, the Crumpler can be changed from 1 shoulder to 2 shoulders, It's hard to explain but you wear it like those 1 shoulder bagpacks.

I would think the Very Busy man is too large, Maybe the Moderate Embarassment would be a better fit.



or the Part and Parcel:

 

Hey coriolis, thanx again for all yre help...........but this is my finaly question before i order a king single ..............so far im pretty sure that the backpack will be comfortable and will secure the lapttop well...btw when u say that yre laptop didnt fit and it was loose do you mean it was loose depth wise or width wise.in any even here are my dimensions with the extended battery....

12.2 width x 11 depth (cos of the extended battery) and 1.2 height (all in inches)

and my last and final question to both you and m61376 is that will the king slide be enuff for my stuff..ie one text book ;one binder ; 2 notebooks and pens pencils etc...


thank you thank you once again

 

Pens and pencils can easily fit in the outer flap.

Right now I don't have access to my T21(Not for a while maybe ) but with a regular 6 -cell, it fits into the Crumpler Pocket as is, as you can use the flap to tighten it. But it may move around a little bit.

Depending on the bag, if it was my bag, one pic shows three large binders fitting in, so I can't see how what you've listed won't fit!

Best of luck!

 

hmm.. you have probably heard of this, but how about trying the Kensington Contour Backpack.. they are pretty sturdy/waterproof and have reallly good back support

features include:
"* Contour adjustable lumbar support panel reduces fatigue by shifting weight onto the hips.
* Endorsed by American Chiropractic Association
* Padded, contoured shoulder straps ease neck and shoulder strain
* SnugFit compartment suspends and wraps laptop for drop protection
* Flap-free access to quicly reach computer and contents. Convenienct front pocket organizes key items at your fingertips.
* Handle doubles as strap to hang case from wheeled bag
* Expandable bottle Holster and headphone port for MP3 player
* 1680 Denier Ballistic Nylon protects against abrasions, punctures and tears"


so, its endorsed by the APA, how could ya go wrong?

 

WELL GUYS I ORDERED THE CRUMPLER BASE TOUCHER AKA KING SINGLE.........HERE ARE SOME QUIK PIKS OF IT
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6798556074

NE WAYILL PROBABLY DO A REVIEW ON IT ONCE I GET IT, hopefully itll help people who hate shopping online cos they cant get afeel of the product.

BTW neal i did look at that backpack, one of my friends had it, and pretty much i was gonna get it if shoppin online had no result... but thanks tho

 

Nice

I'll look forward to it

 

I just got a Crumpler too. Backpack model, same model and color listed in the auction from ebay you posted.

Everything seemed pretty good when I ordered, only thing I didn't like is that the main compartment is basically a "stuff all" area, not much separation of things besides 2 flat looking pockets, and a mesh zippered pocket up top. Oh well, if I don't like it i'm sure someone will buy it from me, and then i'll get a Kensington Contour backpack.

 

jlo mein

That is one cool looking bag. Can you gimme a lil bit more of an update on how you like using it, I'm considering buying one.

Specifically the depth is listed as 11" which is good for carrying a notebook + text books but is it severly tappered at the top limiting the storage capacity? Also how do you like the way that it opens up, that just looks weird to me. And how much can you fit in the little pockets, can you fit a power cord, can of coke and a sandwich or are they too small for all that.

I thought I was all decided on a Tom bihn < www.tombihn.com > brain bag but this one looks cooler. Just not sure it offers the storage I need for my sandwich , pop and junk.

g~~

 

Sorry I have not received my bag yet. I bought it on the 9th from Photocan, they shipped from Montreal on the 12th, and tracking says it was received in BC today, so it should be delivered Monday yay!

basejumper, have you received yours yet? Looking forward to your opinion on it.

Having food in your bag is a good point. I was kinda bummed that the Crumpler i got doesn't have one of those external mesh pockets on the side for a water bottle.

 

I ordered from that exact same seller (Photocon) last week and just got my bag yesterday.

I have a Sony S460 and I got the Part andParcel Messenger bag from by Crumpler.

What can I say, I love this bag and I need to thank coriolis and his review for pointing me in the Crumpler direction.

The padding is very niceand there's plenty of room for books and pockets for accessories. I probably could've gone for the smaller version of this bag, the Hee-Goer, since there is quite a bit of room in the laptop compartment. Oh, well I could just buy a sleeve to help make fit more snug.

But I too was disappointed in that it didn't have a flap on the side to hold a drink or something. I'm so used to having that since the last bag I had had one. Guess I'm gonna have to buy one of those watter botles that you can hook onto the bag or something.

Awesome bag though and I highly recommend it.

 

I'm ordering another bag from them - I need one just for my z70va and the power bar, the one I have now is great for school but big when I just need it for basic carrying around

Glad to see you like your Crumpler

 

I have the asus z70va, not sure if the king single will be big enough for it based on the specs listed on their website, it says that the laptop sleeve is 10.6" wide and the laptop is 10.9" wide, also the laptop is 13.9" long and the crumpler website lists the length of the sleeve as 13.8", so I am not really too sure if this bag will work. Looking into the beer back currently, but same problem with the width of the laptop sleeve, just a bit too small.

 

i just recently stumbled on these new laptop bags. there's sorta a cross between a backpack and a messenger style bag. they look pretty cool to me and in the testomonials seem pretty convincing (although i'm sure it's filtered somewhat).

www.bumbakpaks.com

i bet these bags are great for students who want to carry their laptop plus the rest of their school gear.

 

I bought a Beer Back (crumpler brand) recently and I absolutely love it. Just arrived the other day so I can't really say a whole lot about it yet, but it poured rain here today and when I went inside took the bag off I saw water droplets all over it and was able to just brush them off... how cool is that? It also snows and rains a bit in my area (though not much until mid to late October through May) so I did take into consideration the waterproofness of my bag. Overall I would give the bag a 9.4/10, there are a few things about it that I dislike but are growing on me (not too sure about the powder blue inside ) and the fit for my laptop is absolutely perfect... (I have the :asus: Z70Va). I am able to fit a textbook, workbook and 4 5star notebooks in the bag without difficulties when I have the laptop in it, and it has a ton of compartments for all the storage I have needs for. It doesn't look too huge, but has so many compartments that It fits everything I need it to fit. I will post a review of the bag when I get a chance, along with pictures of it compared to my other backpack (ripcurl search is the name of that one I think).

 

what do you guys think of this one?

http://www.gymspacific.com/GS_312.html

i really like it-- holds up to 15" notebooks

 

I recently purchased a Crumpler Embarassment and it is a well made and very nice bag.

 

I'm finding my Very Busy Man too huge for my needs heh, I may sell it and buy the embarassment!

 

LOL...is it just me, or are the names of these bags just freakin' hilarious!

 

Hey all,

Based on the reviews here I ordered a crumpler from photocon on ebay, and I am expecting to get it in the next couple days. I have the ferrari 4005 so I went with the "Cashmere Blazer" as I like a large messenger type bag. I'll post some photos + review when I get it!

Props to coriolis for pointing me in that direction! Thanks!

Now I just need a good sleeve for it..

 

Zandrox, I can't wait to see more pics of the crumpler beer bag. I've been considering that one too.

Coriolis, let me know how much your asking for your very busy man.

 

Not sure, but I've used it quite a bit, although its not visible at all..

Shipping may be expensive though, I'm gonna go and see what I can cram it into and see how much it will cost...

Where do you live? Province/State/COuntry, etc.

Thanks

 

cant wait to see pics and review of beer back! of course i may end up just being cheap and getting an adidas compression for $25 at finishline and getting a shinza if i think the laptop needs more protection. but yeesh, those crumplers look nice.